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Our governing council

The role of our Council is to make sure that the GPhC fulfils its statutory role to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of members of the public by upholding standards and public trust in pharmacy.

Our Council acts as a governing body which ensures that the GPhC is managed effectively and efficiently. For this reason it operates separately and independently from the Chief Executive and the senior leadership group.

The Council is expected to continually challenge us as an organisation to improve the way we regulate, so that we achieve better outcomes for patients and the public.

The Council consists of 14 members who are split equally between registrant members (pharmacists or pharmacy technicians) and lay members (people who have never been registered as healthcare professionals). This allows the Council to reflect the diversity of the profession and the wider public and to bring in knowledge and experience from both inside and outside pharmacy.

All Council members are appointed and are required to act independently from the government, professionals and all other interest groups.

There are no places reserved on the Council for any of the professions regulated by us, or for specific sectors of practice. We do have reserved places however for at least one member who lives or works mainly, or wholly, in each country within Great Britain.

Being a Council member is a paid position and we aim to be as transparent as possible about our remuneration and expenses policy in line with best practice.

The way in which the business is conducted at our Council meetings is set out in our standing orders. These important documents help ensure that meetings run smoothly and that its business is carried out in the most efficient and effective way possible. You can view our standing orders here.

Here you can find brief biographies of the chair, Nigel Clarke, and the members of our Council. We have also included a registers of interest for each member which publicly lists their financial and other interests that could potentially conflict with their role as a Council member.

Here you can find key documents setting out our approach to governance.

Gifts and hospitality

Council members should never put themselves under any obligation to outside individuals that might influence their independence or impartiality or, just as importantly, might lead to a perception that they might be influenced.

Below is the register of gifts and hospitality which lists items received that have been declared by the members: